HOLMES TOWNSHIP - Going 16-0 is an impressive feat in itself. Doing it for the second consecutive year is nothing short of phenomenal.

That's exactly what this Buckeye Central team is — phenomenal.

Last year, it seemed like the Buckettes couldn't get much better than they already were. Losing just a pair of seniors and seeing several fringe players turn into vital squad members in the offseason made them even more dangerous than before.

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Courtney Pifer swings at a ball in the first game against Wynford.(Photo: Zachary Holden/Telegraph-Forum)

"Between our ball control and having a lot more people as go-to hitters, we have a lot more weapons than we did last year, so that's nice to see," Buckeye Central coach Jackie Nye said. "We're definitely a different team than we were last year. It's nice to see some of these other kids step up and put the ball away besides Jenna Karl.

"Even though she's an amazing player, it's nice to give her some backup."

That backup has come in the form of Emily Stump, predominately. Stump has gone from a rotational player in her junior year to an elite hitter next to Karl racking up more than 200 kills.

Sophomore Lexi Evak has learned how to utilize her 6-foot-1 frame as more than just height; she has become one of the best blockers in the league and challenges every ball that comes near her at the net.

Combine that with the best kill-maker in the league in Addie Ackerman — who finished with just shy of 700 assists in the regular season — Bailey Agin's 96 percent serve receiving and the rest of the balanced Buckettes squad and it's easy to see why they've won 38 consecutive Northern 10 matches.

"The girls have been working really hard leading up to this," Nye said. "It's nice to see their hard work pay off for them."

In the team's 25-12, 25-10, 25-17 win over Wynford, Nye was able to rotate her squad, giving fringe players time on the court to keep them fresh heading into what everyone in New Washington is hoping is a deep tournament run.

"We always want to play good competition leading up to the tournament because we're going to play good competition, but it's nice to work people in so we can try out new things and see what we have coming up," Nye said.

Lady Royals ready for the challenge

It wasn't the way Jamee Burke wanted Wynford's regular season to end, but there's still more volleyball to be played and that's what she stressed after the team's loss.

"That's what we just emphasized in the locker room, our season is not over and that's the best part about tournaments, everybody starts 0-0," Burke said.

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Eleni Smock (left) and Olivia Grove (right) block a ball in the second game against Buckeye Central.(Photo: Zachary Holden/Telegraph-Forum)

What was a hot start to the season winning three of the first four matches quickly cooled off and the Lady Royals closed out the season going 3-15 in the final 18 matches.

"At the beginning of the season, everybody is coming out a little rocky and we played a lot of teams in the bottom half of our conference, then you end with a really tough stretch against strong teams," Burke said.

"I think that's great for us though because in the last few weeks we've seen Mohawk, Carey, Buckeye, we've seen them all and we take that going into tournament so we can only move on from there."